He ran his hands down the back of his head as he sighed to himself, overwhelmed by the gesture I’d extended toward him. Then he placed his palms against the desk and looked me in the eye. “So, she gets nothing?”
I nodded. “Not a penny. The evidence of her affair will only drive the nail farther into the coffin.”
Coen didn’t seem remotely pleased by that. The hurt burned in his eyes like a beacon. All he gave was a slight nod.
“So, what happened? She just woke up this morning and said it was over?”
“In so many words…” He grabbed the bottle and took a drink. “She was very nonchalant about it, like I should have figured everything out from the beginning. She was heartless, cold, and straight to the point. She basically said she got what she wanted and she had no use for me.”
What a psychopath. “You really had no idea?”
He shook his head. “I really didn’t…”
Sometimes love made a man blind. I just hoped I would never love anyone…because I never wanted to behave so stupidly. I couldn’t picture Monroe hurting me like that, but then again, I’d once thought the same thing about Simone. “Since the beginning, she’s been after our family money. She wasn’t going to stop until she got it—even if that meant robbing the bank.”
“I guess so.”
“So, she asked for a divorce?”
He nodded. “She didn’t waste any time…”
“Because she wants half your money and the continued profits from our hotels.”
“Yeah…”
Thank god they were both dumb enough to sign that paperwork. “I have copies and the originals of the prenup. When you meet with your lawyers, just present it. That should be concrete, even if she argues she wasn’t aware of what she was signing. You and I will both lie and say she was completely aware of it. Who are they going to believe? A woman who’s obviously a gold digger—or us?”
“That would be lying under oath.”
I shrugged. “So?”
“You would do that for me?”
It was pathetic he even had to ask. “I don’t want that bitch anywhere near this company. I worked too hard to turn it into an empire. I’m not dealing with that psychopath every day. I did this as much for myself as I did it for you.”
He stared at me for a long time, speechless again. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”
His apology meant nothing to me. “I’m just glad this is finally over.”
“Yeah…”
We sat together in tense silence, both of us thinking about the blonde who made a fool out of each of us. She made me the laughingstock to the entire world, and now she’d done the same to my brother. Once she learned of the prenup I’d illegally obtained, she would be pissed. So, of course, she would tell the world I was the Cherry Popper, and once again, my name would be dragged through the mud.
Like I gave a shit.
“Did Simone move out?”
“No. She kicked me out.”
Wow, my brother needed to grow a pair. “Where are you staying?”
He shrugged. “In this chair.”
I shouldn’t invite him to my place because I already had a guest, but it felt cold not offering him something. He would never stay with my mother because she would drive him crazy. “You want to stay with me?”
He looked at me like he didn’t recognize me. “Seriously?”
I shrugged. “I’m your brother, right?”
“Yeah…but you don’t owe me anything.”
“I just thought I would ask. You know I have a big place.” With multiple floors and multiple bedrooms, it was practically a hotel. “But it’s fine if you don’t want to.”
“No, I would love to stay. Since Simone might take half of everything I own, I’m actually on a budget now.”
I would never get married just to avoid that fear. If I met a woman I actually liked someday, she would just have to settle for being my permanent girlfriend. I’d worked too hard to have someone take it all away when they left me. “We won’t let that happen, man. We’re gonna take Simone down—for good.”
The doors opened, and I stepped inside my apartment.
Monroe was already there, wearing her workout clothes because she’d just finished in my private gym. In her skintight leggings and sports bra, she looked absolutely fuckable. My brother would definitely have to stay on a different floor so he wouldn’t have to overhear all the dirty shit I did to her.
She lifted a bottle of water to her lips and took a drink. “So…bad day, huh?”
“No. Good day, actually.”
“Am I missing something?”
I stopped in front of her and kissed her on the mouth, liking the way her hair was slightly loose from her ponytail. There was still a sheen of sweat on her rack. Whether she was sweaty, soaked in the shower, or perfectly dry in my bed, she looked like a fantasy. “Coen told me Simone kicked him out. Wants a divorce. Didn’t bother hiding the truth.”